Swimming with Sharks

Inside the World of the Bankers
The author, an investigative journalist, knew almost nothing about banking until he was assigned to investigate the financial sector. Over two years he spoke to more than 200 people - from the competitive investment bankers to downtrodden back office staff. In this book, he tells their stories.

'It's not the people who are bad, it's the culture.'

'Friends turned on me, on my wife.'

'This job involves in some part selling your soul for a good salary.'

'You're sitting there, and you may have just made the decision that destroyed the world.'

Winner of the NS Public Prize for Book of the Year 2015

Joris Luyendijk, an investigative journalist, knew almost nothing about banking until he was assigned to investigate the financial sector. Over two years he spoke to more than 200 people - from the competitive investment bankers and elite hedge fund managers to downtrodden back office staff and those made redundant in regular 'culls'. They opened up about what they actually do, about the toxic hiring and firing culture and about the overwhelming technological and mathematical opacity of their work. They admitted that in the crash of 2008, they hoarded food, put their money in gold and prepared to evacuate their children to the countryside. And they agreed that nothing had changed since then.

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
• UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd Class.

International Delivery:

• Flat rate delivery charges vary by country.

Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK within 48 hours of receipt during working hours.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-5 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 21 working days

View our full delivery infomation here.